BP Unfiltered

Tools of Pain

On Sunday, the New York Times published an article by David Waldstein chronicling Russell Martin. Waldstein profiles Martin’s rise, from pudgy Canadian teenager to All-Star backstop, while dishing out some numbers on the physical debts paid by the catcher. Even for those without interest in Martin, these tidbits should justify the read. Here is a teaser:

The Times counted the number of times Martin got into his crouch in the course of the night. In all, counting pregame warm-ups with Nova in the bullpen and the 8 to 10 warm-up throws before each inning, he did it 311 times.

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The math grows ugly. Last season, Martin’s first with the Yankees after he signed as a free agent, he started 118 games, meaning he spent roughly 106 hours in the crouch. In his seven-year career, he has spent the equivalent of almost 28 days crouching.